Value of DiversityAnonymous

A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community, or an encounter that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you.

There simply was no solution. With tears of frustration in my eyes I went through the options for the hundredth time. I had come face to face with one of life’s many brutal truths: no one can build a sand-castle by herself. About to give up in despair, I spied something that made my heart leap. There, between the little red slide and the big-kid swings, sat another five-year old girl. It did not matter that as a native of the country I was visiting, she only spoke German.

All too soon we were casting long shadows in the fading sunlight, and I had to say goodbye to my architectural partner. I knew nothing but her name, which I have long since forgotten. After all, this was simply one of many such encounters.

By the time I realized how lucky I was to do so, I had traveled to most of Europe and some of Asia. My father’s job dragged our family from country to country. We lived for a few months in Israel one year, a few months in Switzerland the next. If I were to go back to any one of the many countries to which I have traveled, I would naturally be drawn to the famous monuments, historic landmarks, and local museums. But the memories of my international playmates are some of the most valuable souvenirs I could bring home from my...